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In 1764 the Sugar Act was enacted to raise tax revenue in the colonies for England and it increased the duty on sugar imported from the West Indies. However, the colonists were accustomed to having their own colonial legislatures creating taxes, so they fought back when Britain tried to control them. In 1765 the Stamp Act mandated the use of stamps on certain types of commercial and legal documents. The purpose of this tax was to raise revenue for the new military force, but the colonists did not want to pay for an army they did not ask for. The Townshend Tea Tax placed an import duty on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea in 1767. The colonists believed Britain was trying to stifle their growth and slowly take away the freedom they had. One consequence of the tea tax was the Boston Tea Party, which resulted in a loss of profit for Britain. The colonists in America did not believe in the Virtual Representation Prime Minister Grenville claimed they had. If Britain had given the colonists representatives in Parliament it would have appeased them and a huge conflict might not have occurred. The irony was that British representatives could have easily outvoted the Colonial representatives in Parliament. Taxation without representation was one of the main issues that pushed the colonists into fighting against their Mother
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The Quartering Act required colonists to provide housing for British troops which was uncomfortable for the colonists because they did not want Redcoats in their homes. On March 5, 1770, a crowd of townspeople were protesting Britain’s actions regarding the colonies. They attacked ten redcoats who opened fired on them killing or wounding eleven colonists. The Boston Massacre was proof of how unhappy the colonists were and the dangerous results it could lead to, yet Britain did not take the hint. In April 1775, a British commander in Boston sent troops to Lexington to seize colonial gunpowder and to capture the rebel colonists, Samuel Adams and John Hancock. There, eight Americans were killed and this incident was labeled as the Lexington Massacre. When British troops arrived in Concord, they were met with American resistance and this conflict resulted in 70 deaths. The loss of their fellow Americans and their lifestyle infuriated the colonists and the British no longer had a small-scale rebellion on their
The Quartering Act required colonists to provide housing for British troops which was uncomfortable for the colonists because they did not want Redcoats in their homes. On March 5, 1770, a crowd of townspeople were protesting Britain’s actions regarding the colonies. They attacked ten redcoats who opened fired on them killing or wounding eleven colonists. The Boston Massacre was proof of how unhappy the colonists were and the dangerous results it could lead to, yet Britain did not take the hint. In April 1775, a British commander in Boston sent troops to Lexington to seize colonial gunpowder and to capture the rebel colonists, Samuel Adams and John Hancock. There, eight Americans were killed and this incident was labeled as the Lexington Massacre. When British troops arrived in Concord, they were met with American resistance and this conflict resulted in 70 deaths. The loss of their fellow Americans and their lifestyle infuriated the colonists and the British no longer had a small-scale rebellion on their